A Change is as Good as a Rest - New Brushes!

Happy 2015! I had to get that in as this is my first post of the year. I am a naughty blogger and I apologise.

It’s been a hectic few months in my studio – I’ve been working on puppet books, a mermaid book, aliens, kittens, bears and foxes (yes, more foxes). I literally haven’t stopped thanks to my super-efficient agents and amazing clients. I’ll be able to show you some of those things soon, but not until they’re published later this year.

The arrival of 2015Â is spurring me on to branch out a bit with my style. It’s essential. Not doing it can leave you in a bit of a funk and I can see that not-so-distant funk on the horizon. I’m not talking a complete turnaround – just something small. Change is good, people. Change heralds progression. But change is a bit scary.

First step I’ve taken is to make myself some new brushes. I love this part, it’s like when you buy a new pair of shoes. Even old outfits feel better when you wear your new shoes. You feel smarter and fresher and, well, a little bit spruced up. Second step will be to output lots of new work with my brushes and start replacing the older work I have on show in my portfolio.

I have to replace rather than append because I’m trying to move away from older styles. It could be something as simple as ‘I don’t want to draw feet like that anymore – from this day forward all my characters will wear heels!’ to something more obvious like going from big bug eyes to dot eyes. But this time for me, it’s all about the textures. Here’s a sneaky peek at what I’ve been up to while I run off back to my drawing board.